The title of Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds Season 1 Episode 4, “Memento Mori,” interprets from the Latin to “do not forget that you [have to] die” and, just like the Excessive Valyrian saying on Sport of Thrones, “Valar morghulis,” it units a tone of grim understanding and underscores the fragility of life.
Whereas the encounter within the brown dwarf is rife with the suspense of the most effective wartime submarine dramas, it is attention-grabbing to notice that we by no means see the Gorn onscreen as a result of — as horror aficionados know — our imaginations are a lot scarier than something we see on display screen.
Moreover, a deep dive into the narrative construction of the script finds that the exterior battle’s answer is buried in La’an’s inside one. Her stoic exterior shelters a chaotic and tragic mess of reminiscences and feelings that she’s solely begun to face.
Regardless of the Gorn’s place in Star Trek canon, for a lot of, the warp-capable reptilian bipeds are a relative unknown past Star Trek: Enterprise Season 4 Episode 19, Star Trek: Decrease Decks Season 2 Episode 5, and that industrial with William Shatner.
We’re studying far more concerning the Gorn from La’an’s experiences of surviving seize, captivity, and launch.
I am chalking it as much as the sooner days of Starfleet that they’d enable an officer together with her stage of unresolved trauma simply to hold on.
I imply, regardless of the labeled nature of Pike’s trauma, April just about ordered him to saddle up and get again to it on Star Trek: Unusual New Worlds Season 1 Episode 1.
Psychological well being help is not precisely a historically excessive precedence amongst organizations like Starfleet.
Ortegas: The Gorn? Actually? We’re out right here preventing the Boogyman? Nobody has even seen one, so how are we alleged to take them on?
La’an: I’ve seen them. They aren’t supernatural, however they’re monsters.
In fact, La’an’s stoicism most likely covers for lots of her points. Una’s gotten to know her nicely sufficient to acknowledge intervention is required, however their friendship is such that she stops wanting ordering her to endure remedy.
Pike: How ya holding up?
La’an: The enemy doesn’t care about my emotions, Captain, so I don’t waste my time having any.
Pike’s figuring issues out about La’an as nicely. He each trusts her and worries about her.
Her literal connection to Spock by their thoughts meld permits them each to entry the reminiscences she’s by no means been ready (nor wished to) revisit with readability.
I like that the thoughts meld offers a two-way hyperlink, giving her a glimpse into Spock’s grief at shedding his sister and offering an emotional center floor that they share.
Exploration can actual a heavy toll. As a captain, there isn’t any loss extra devastating than that of a crew member.
Pike
Apart from the truth that Spock is the one crewmate able to performing the thoughts meld together with her, he’s additionally somebody who — by nature and tradition — is simply as dispassionate about being mission-first.
Spock: If we depart the brown dwarf, they’ll see us. If we go deeper, it may destroy the ship.
Pike: Good considering, Mr. Spock. We have to go deeper into the brown dwarf.
Spock: That’s not what I instructed.
The present spends plenty of time contrasting Spock with extra mercurial and versatile thinkers like Pike and Chapel. It is heartwarming to acknowledge that he has a sort of kindred spirit in La’an.
I had initially wager on Hemmer being paired with Spock, mistaking the Chief Engineer’s curmudgeonliness for defensiveness. In truth, he’s fairly much more open and prepared to share his ideas and emotions than the Vulcan Science Specialist.
The scenes with Uhura sow the seeds of a mentor-protégée bond we may even see develop in future adventures.
Uhura: Engineering is quite a bit like linguistics.
Hemmer: Is that so?
Uhura: Certain, each are depending on how seemingly unrelated techniques talk.
Hemmer: Large concepts. To impress me, you’re going to wish to do higher than theorize.
Uhura: Problem accepted.
And since he is a self-proclaimed genius and he or she’s recognized to be a prodigy, it is a very passable assembly of minds.
Uhura: We’re gonna be a staff.
Hemmer: It’s not that easy. There’s quite a lot of information that solely I can assess.
Uhura: And I’m the one one right here with a working set of fingers.
Hemmer: I’m not keen on groups.
Uhura: Get fond.
In the meantime, can we speak about how cute and kick-ass Ortegas is?
As a completely authentic character to the verse — with no legacy character or canon-soaked surname to weigh her down — Ortegas is a personality with plenty of freedom to carve out a brand new and distinctive area of interest on the crew.
In command of the helm, she’s obtained the arrogance and vitality of pilots who’ve come earlier than, however she’s additionally introduced her personal persona to the position.
Pike: That brown dwarf that you simply talked about earlier than. It’s just about a fuel big, proper? The place precisely is it?
Spock: 200 million kilometers away. However, Captain, it’s tethered in orbit round a black gap.
Ortegas: Like, how large of a black gap?
Pike: One drawback at a time.
If I have been to attempt to nail down the attraction of Ortegas, it will be that she says what we, the viewers, are considering. She’s our voice on the bridge. She stands in for the followers of the present, the ship, and the franchise.
Ortegas trusts her crew and captain and places her all right into a job she loves and is aware of she’s ace at.
Pike: Erica, if anybody can surf a wave on a black gap, it’s you.
Ortegas: Now you nearly make it sound enjoyable.
She’s good with out being inaccessible, smart-mouthed with out being a smart-ass.
I can not think about anybody extra can-do than her, however she additionally needs to know the lay of the land.
Even when dealing with ridiculous odds in unbelievable circumstances, she’s sport and able to observe orders. And that each one comes all the way down to her religion of their function.
Pike: Helm, full impulse to Spock’s mark.
Ortegas: Aye, aye. Full impulse. To an enormous fuel cloud of dying. Why not?
However she’s all the time going to place her two cents in, which exhibits that she is aware of she’s the place she is revered and valued.
On par with Ortegas for fast quips (however not almost as fun-seeming since she’s normally sticking needles or different devices into folks), Chapel’s been conserving so busy we have not actually gotten to know her.
Chapel: We’re going to have to offer it to you by way of IV.
Una: Do I’ve a selection?
M’Benga: You may decline. Look ahead to the techniques to be on-line.
Chapel: We will take bets on when septic shock would start. I hear it’s like giving beginning out your mouth.
Una: Who says one thing like that?
Chapel: Me.
Not that she’s not been memorable. She’s probably the most energetic “nurse” I’ve ever seen on a Trek present. To be truthful, Majel Barrett’s Chapel costume did not actually enable her to do the operating and (bodily) heavy lifting this iteration has been known as on to do.
It is telling that the one casualty we see on-screen occurs far-off from sickbay. This isn’t a staff prepared to see a crew member die of accidents.
M’Benga: You mentioned you have been high-quality.
Una: I used to be mistaken.
It is also the primary crew dying we have witnessed within the sequence thus far.
It is a weight that Pike will carry regardless of figuring out intellectually that sacrificing one to save lots of many is a Captain’s duty.
Spock: You made the logical selection.
Pike: Why doesn’t it really feel like that?
Spock: For a similar purpose you made it. Since you worth life.
In distinction, take into account the Gorn’s tactic of destroying their very own ship for the offense of being boarded by the enemy.
Discuss reptile mind.
That brings me to a fairly massive quibble with the sunshine language cipher.
Significantly, how probably is it that the Gorn use an alphabet that interprets immediately into English letters?
In an in any other case crackin’ script, that is a reasonably harsh fumble.
Your thoughts is complicated. When confronted with intense trauma, it could actually manifest intricate defenses to help survival.
Spock
With the upbeat (for her) log entry La’an leaves us on, the lesson this week seems to be that you need to keep in mind you need to die however can hope it isn’t right this moment.
If La’an can discover a silver lining, I would say there’s hope for all of us.
How did this one play for you, Fanatics? Did it hit all of the adrenaline buttons, or was it an excessive amount of too quick?
Be sure you take a look at our roundtable interview with La’an (Christina Chong), Ortegas (Melissa Navia), and Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) for extra insights on the bridge crew we’re attending to know now!
Hit our feedback along with your kudos and critiques!
Diana Keng is a workers author for TV Fanatic. Observe her on Twitter.
